SANDY — Mark Hensby can't explain the sudden success he has enjoyed this year as the leading money-winner — the Tiger Woods — of the Buy.com Tour.
He did, however, have a good explanation for his tournament-record 63 Thursday, which gave him the first-round lead in the Buy.com Utah Classic at Willow Creek Country Club.
"I putted extremely well today," Hensby said as he held his 7-month-old son, Chase, on his knee. "It was unbelievable, really. I didn't hit the ball very well, but my putting kept me going."
The 29-year-old Australian needed only 21 putts — 31 is about average for professional golfers — to produce his round of 63. That gave him a one-stroke lead over Andrew Morse and a two-shot lead over John Riegger and Kevin Johnson after one round of the $400,000 tournament. Eight golfers were lurking three shots behind heading into Friday's second round.
The field will be cut to the low 55 players and ties after Friday. The 72-hole tournament runs through Sunday.
Among the dozen or so golfers with local ties, Orem's Keith Clearwater had the best round, firing a 4-under-par 68 to put him in a tie for 19th place.
Hensby made nearly everything he looked at on the Willow Creek greens, which were softened by an overnight rainstorm. His longest putt was a 25-footer at the par-5 No. 10 hole after he hit into a bunker with his second shot. He added a 20-footer at the 16th hole, but otherwise was sinking putts inside 10 feet most of the day.
Ironically he missed one of his shortest tries of the day, a six-footer at No. 18 that would have given him a 62. His 63 broke the two-year tournament record at Willow Creek and tied the record set by two players in 1996 when the tournament was played at Riverside CC in Provo.
Hensby has played the Buy.com Tour (formerly called the Nike Tour) for four years without much success. He did win the Fort Smith Classic in Arkansas in 1998, but in 1997 he finished 100th on the money list and last year he was 52nd.
This year, however, he finished second in the first tournament of the year in Florida and hasn't fallen out of the top five money-winners all year. He won the Carolina Classic in June and finished second on two other occasions, including last week at Odessa, Texas. Hensby came into this week's event way out in front on the money list with $284,943, but don't ask him why.
"I really can't answer that," he said. "I really don't know why I've started to play well all of a sudden. I worked more on my short game in the offseason, and I've putted better this year. It's been a dream year so far."
Morse fired his 64 in the morning when conditions are supposed to optimal. But it was actually windier in the morning, and the greens never dried out in the afternoon in the cool, wet conditions.
The 41-year-old Morse, who hails from Massachusetts, would have preferred dry conditions, unlike most golfers who love to stick shots at soft greens.
"I prefer conditions to be as hard as possible," he said. "I hit the ball low, and I run a lot of shots up to the green. But I can't control the weather."
The weather was a factor Thursday as a thunderstorm rolled through Willow Creek in the late afternoon, delaying play for 78 minutes and threatening to leave some players on the course. The last group finished at 8:20 p.m. with barely enough light to see.
Aside from Clearwater, local players didn't fare too well in the opening round. Sandy's Steve Schneiter finished with a 70, St. George's Brad Sutterfield shot 71, ex-BYU golfers Mike Henderson and Eric Rustand shot 72s along with Orem's Tommy Johnson, St. George's Quentin Sasser had a 73 and American Fork's Kim Thompson shot 74. Host pro Eric Nielsen, who filled in for a player who withdrew at the last minute, shot a 74, while Milan Swilor, who holds the course record of 61, could only manage an 80.
The cut is expected to be around 141, meaning the Utah golfers will have to rally in the second round.
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